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Deliveries cover a Stan Tug, five ASD Tugs and a Shoalbuster for clients in Europe, Middle East and both north and South Africa. Starting at the smaller end of the list the Royal Moroccan Navy has taken delivery of what is their first tug, a Stan Tug 2208 bearing the name Al Mounkid.

Previously, Morocco’s navy relied on third-party tug operators to provide towage services, an arrangement that has not always gone hand-in-hand with its independence. The new arrival therefore considerably reduces its dependence on commercial operations. Conventional fixed-pitch propellers provide a bollard pull of 50 tonnes and Al Mounkid is equipped for fire-fighting and oil pollution control duties.

Next we head north to the UK and report the delivery of the ASD 2310 CMS Warrior to Clyde Marine Services. The CMS connection with Damen dates back to the purchase of a Pushy Cat in the mid-eighties and CMS Warrior will join four other Stan Tugs, this is however their first ASD Tug.

The 52tbp tug is classed by BV and was part of the much publicised 22 vessel consignment of Damen vessels shipped to Europe from their yards in Asia. Four generations of the same family have run CMS since 1913 with most of their activities based around the Firth of Clyde and West Coast of Scotland. They provide a range of services including passenger tenders for cruise ships along with Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels.

Two more naval service tugs are reported next with delivery of the ASD Tug 3010 ICE Hector and Hercules to the Royal Swedish Navy. Built under Lloyd’s Register rules to ICE 1A standard, twin MTU main engines supply 2,000bkW (2,718bhp) to Rolls-Royce US 205 thrusters providing 33tbp.

Two 600m3/hr fifi monitors are included and towing is over the stern from a two-speed double-drum winch and Mampaey 65t towing hook. Accommodation is provided for six persons in two single and two double cabins.

SHARJAH AND IJMUIDEN
Two ASD Tug 2411s are now starting work 7,000 miles apart (by sea) in Sharjah and Ijmuiden. Sharjah Port and Customs Authority already operate eight Stan Tugs and a Damen pilot boat and Al Luolo’ Aya is now the port’s first ASD tug.

The vessel was built locally at Damen’s Sharjah facility, described as ‘built in Sharjah for Sharjah’ at a high-profile naming ceremony. The 68.5tbp tug will be deployed at Port Khor Fakkan in the UAE and is equipped to fifi1 standard. The fact that there are hundreds of Damen vessels operating in the region means the builders presence in the UAE will provide comprehensive local support facilities over the tug’s lifetime.

At the other end of the aforementioned sea voyage, Ijmuiden in the Netherlands is home to Iskes Towage & Salvage. Iskes operate an interesting mix of tug designs, a number of which originate from Damen including the 2014 delivered ASD Tug 2810 Hybrid tug Bernardus. They recently took delivery of their latest vessel, the ASD Tug 2411 Venus.

Built to Lloyd’s Register classification, Venus has main dimensions following the usual form for the class of: LOA 24m, beam 11.3m and draught aft 5.5m. Twin Caterpillar engines provide 4,200bkW (5,632bhp) in total, driving Rolls-Royce US 255 thrusters delivering 69.4tbp and speed 13.3kn.

Main towing is over the bow with a two-speed split-drum towing winch. The afterdeck has a closed transom and 1,000kN towing hook on the centreline. Two single and one double cabin provide accommodation for four persons.

We complete the delivery round-up many miles away in the Southern Hemisphere where Damen Shipyards Cape Town (DSCT) recently completed Aukwatowa the first of two Shoalbuster 3009S multi-purpose workboats for SMIT Amandla Marine. Their multipurpose capabilities are specified for their role supporting De Beer’s Group’s offshore diamond mining activities at Port Nolloth in the Northern Cape.

The generic specification for Damen’s Shoalbuster 3009 includes key figures of a draught of just 3.2m on a LOA of 30m and displacement 350 tons. Aukwatowa has a bollard pull of 24.5 tonnes and is fitted with a deck crane with a lifting capacity up to 1.7 tonnes.

MORE ORDERS
The production lines of Damen Shipyards Group are keeping busy with the final chapter of this round-up reporting on a selection of orders placed recently. Frøy Vest AS of Norway recently ordered what is described as a “revolutionary combination” of a Multi Cat workboat and Stan Pontoon 4113 for the fish farm industry. Of interest to this column is the Multi Cat with a bollard pull of 34.8 tonnes and an impressive list of capabilities. Green Isle and Fox Fighter are two previous examples of this marque covered here and one that will no doubt be returned to.

Damen recently signed an agreement with Great Lakes Shipyard USA to build two Stan Tug 1907 ICE tugs to be operated by the yard’s affiliate company The Great Lakes Towing Company. They will replace existing tonnage and be the first Damen tugs built under licence in the USA.

Finally, Öresund, Sweden-based BogserTeam Öresund (BTÖ) have signed a contract for an ASD Tug 2810 which is now in build at Damen’s Galati facilities and due for delivery in June 2016. It will provide harbour and escort towage duties in the Sound between Denmark and Sweden.

Damen’s standardisation policy was a factor for BTÖ with the order meaning they did not have to dedicate part of their operation to supervising a newbuild project in a shipyard for several months. Part of the process involved the customer experiencing the tug at the 360-Control Tug & Offshore Simulator Training Centre in Ijmuiden.

By Peter Barker